He Wouldn’t Let His Teen Son Stay Home From School For “Mental Health Reasons,” And Now His Son Feels Like He Doesn’t Care
When you were growing up, I’m sure you had moments where you didn’t want to go to school simply because you didn’t want to or felt like you needed a break.
One man recently was in a tough position after not letting his son stay home from school for what he claimed were mental health reasons.
He has a 16-year-old son who talked to him a few days ago after he got home from school about not wanting to return the next day. When he asked his son why he didn’t want to go to school, his son said he was tired of having to wake up early.
Naturally, he suggested that his son go to bed earlier that night so he’d have more time to sleep before school the next day.
Then, his son started becoming upset and changed his story. He told him he really didn’t want to go to school because of mental health reasons and that going to school the next day would make things worse.
“I asked him why he thought that, and he told me that the kids and teachers at his school irritate him,” he said.
“This made me concerned, so I asked him if anyone was bullying him or if he was having problems with some of his teachers, and he told me that he wasn’t and just finds them annoying. I asked him if that was the only reason, and he told me that it was.”
He understood where his son was coming from and wanted to let him know he saw where he was coming from without giving in. He explained to his son that he sometimes finds his coworkers annoying, but that doesn’t mean he can skip work whenever he wants.
Then, he told his son that if he was serious about school being detrimental to his mental health, he’d find him a therapist to talk to about his issues.
goodluz – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
“He then got even more mad at me and told me that he doesn’t need a therapist; he only needs time away from school,” he recalled.
“He told me I don’t understand how stressful school can be, and that’s why he needs time away. I told him I [did] understand and that a therapist could be beneficial in helping him deal with stress. He started arguing with me about not wanting to go again, and I just got frustrated.”
He was especially frustrated with his son because he had a doctor’s appointment he’d already had to miss class for in the upcoming week, and it didn’t make sense to miss two days of class.
Unfortunately, his son also grew more frustrated and told him that if he made him go to school, it meant he didn’t care about his mental health and didn’t love him.
He continued to argue back and forth with his son until his son finally complied and went to school. However, his son was very hostile the following day and hardly spoke to him.
How can he make things right with his son and get him to understand the importance of going to school?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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